Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would appreciate if the Minister of State might respond to me in writing with any replies that he does not have time to give here.

It is great that we have an opportunity to discuss tourism. All of us in the House share an immense sense of pride in our country as a beautiful, welcoming and varied tourism destination. As we observe the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that tourism is one of the sectors in Ireland that faces a cliff edge from which many of us worry it may not be able to recover. We know now that it is the most impacted sector in terms of the number of people out of work due to the crisis. Figures show that 128,000 workers in the tourism and hospitality sectors are now in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, compared with 90,000 people in retail and 70,000 in construction. The figures for all these sectors are eye-watering and I do not think the impact this crisis has had has fully sunk in for many of us. It must also be pointed out that in hospitality and tourism, it is predominantly women workers, seasonal workers, part-time workers and undervalued workers who are impacted.

It is impossible at this point to overstate the scale of the crisis that has engulfed tourism. As has been mentioned by other Deputies, we know that the domestic tourism sector will be crucial to sustaining any kind of tourism industry in the months and years ahead. We are blessed to have such a varied offering of attractions and amenities. We are proud to have been part of the Government before the previous one that was involved in developing the Wild Atlantic Way and the many new greenways. Credit where it is due, the impetus and momentum on the part of the outgoing Government in developing greenways throughout the country in recent years - the Minister of State has been passionate about it - has been excellent. They are just one of the many examples of the sort of domestic amenities we have that are compatible with social distancing and that will be the key to us getting out of this crisis in the tourism sector.

The hospitality and tourism industry is vital to Ireland and it is key that we work to keep it going. Its workers have some of the most precarious working conditions and pay of any sector in the country. We must ensure that any Government finances used to help the industry recover include agreements on employment legislation to ensure a fair living wage and fair contract hours, as well as the fundamental right to union representation and collective bargaining, with no option for businesses to ignore or disregard that right. As we all know, during the previous crisis beginning in 2008, the hospitality sector received support from the Government and the taxpayer in the form of a lower VAT rate. That was key in helping the tourism and hospitality industry sustain itself and recover. As Deputy Noonan said, along with agriculture it was one of the key drivers in getting us out of that economic crisis.

The Minister of State mentioned his support for a 0% VAT rate.

We need to be careful about bandying about fiscal policies at this point until we have a holistic approach to getting out of this. We do not need to set expectations that a new Government might not be able to deliver upon. During the last crisis, the taxpayer and the Government purse sacrificed a significant percentage of taxation with the measures that were provided for the hospitality sector and that has an impact on delivering vital public services from which the entire country needs to benefit. These are the key decisions that will have to be made in the coming weeks and months. Any package for the industry must ensure the delivery of a functioning joint labour committee, JLC, for the hospitality sector. For the Labour Party, that is a bottom line. We are open to any other creative measures that will keep the hospitality and tourism sectors alive. We will support those measures with every fibre of our being. We like the idea of a State-funded voucher scheme for domestic hotels and guest houses. This would be a great boost to the domestic economy in the latter half of 2020 and beyond into 2021 but we need to see a JLC as part of any agreement.

With the roadmap out of the Covid-19 restrictions having been published, it is good to see some light at the end of the tunnel with some of the activities that will benefit our internal tourism economy. We know golf will be resuming under social distancing restrictions and, hopefully, as further restrictions are lifted, this will lead to people being able to travel within the country for such activities. I commend Inland Fisheries Ireland on clearly communicating how the reintroduction of angling can take place as we move through the phases of lifting restrictions. Angling tourism at its peak is worth €280 million per year to the domestic economy. While such a figure, or anywhere near it, will not be reached this year, salvaging some sort of economic boost from angling tourism will be beneficial. The benefits of angling for mental health and for fostering an affinity with nature and wildlife are well known. The Government should be proactive in encouraging activities such as this, which can be safely practised in terms of social distancing, to help our tourism economy to recover.

We are seeing some anomalies, however, and I know there has been a lot of discussion on when pubs will be reopened. Rightly or wrongly, and probably wrongly, the opening of pubs is seen as some sort of finishing line for the Covid-19 crisis. We know this is not accurate but it demands a clear communication strategy from the Government. For example, there is an inherent contradiction in allowing restaurants with bars to reopen on 29 June but not allowing bars without restaurants to open until 10 August. Like many, I look forward to the day when I can meet my friends in my local pub for a pint but I am in no rush to get there if it compromises public safety. On the anomaly I have just mentioned, we ask that both pubs and restaurants be open on the same day, as long as the establishment in question can adequately meet public health requirements. I am agnostic on when in the unwinding of restrictions that will take place but we need a clear and coherent policy in this regard.

Any return to a long term vibrant and healthy tourism sector will be predicated on the existence of a viable airline industry. I deliberately use the word "existence". We are worried about our aviation sector and there are many people working in aviation who are deeply worried about their future careers. In Dublin Airport today, there are only nine scheduled departures and ten scheduled arrivals, five of which fly to domestic airports. Thousands of jobs depend on the airport reopening but many daily flights are to other EU member states and our ability to reopen the airport also depends on whether those countries have reopened to air travel. We are worried about jobs in Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport. In fact, we are worried about the viability of Shannon Airport due to this crisis. We are worried about jobs in Cork Airport. Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair have projected difficult times and job losses ahead. When An Taoiseach spoke last week about the liberalisation of the airline market and how this has benefited workers and customers alike, we have to disagree. The liberalisation in the free market of any sector has led only to an increase in the wealth gap in many countries and has further condemned workers in those industries to fewer protections and further economic inequality. That is how the workers in these airlines are feeling now. They feel unprotected and vulnerable. That is why I need to ask, in light of the recent reports of massive lay-offs of workers in the aviation sector in companies such as Aer Lingus and with concerns about the DAA, is the Government willing to ensure the wage subsidy scheme will be extended for a longer period as we transition towards life with the Covid-19 pandemic? It must be also noted that companies such as Aer Lingus and Ryanair are some of the most cash-rich companies in the global airline industry. Therefore, a combined approach to protecting workers between the State through the extension of the Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme and with the companies through the companies' own cash reserves, needs to be found.

With so much cash on reserve in these companies we need to ask why they are planning to lay off workers. The only conclusion we can draw is that these companies are seeking to protect those private properties over the ability to maintain the employment of a dedicated workforce. Has the Department liaised with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment? Going back to my original point in respect of tourism, in this sector where low wages are quite prevalent, will any bailout of industries there be tied to employment legislation to ensure the industry puts much greater value on the jobs within it and pays a fair wage to its workers?

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